Power drive system and vehicle

The present application is a continuation of an International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2021/132905 filed on Nov. 24, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present application relates to the technical field of electric vehicles, in particular to a power drive system and a vehicle.

At present, in the field of automotive industry, new energy vehicles have become a new trend of development, such as electric vehicles. Batteries are widely used to supply energy to electric vehicles for driving drive wheels and an air conditioning compressor of a vehicle to run. How to control the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor to flexibly run to reduce energy consumption as much as possible on the premise of meeting requirements is one of the important research and development directions in this field.

The present application aims to provide a power drive system and a vehicle for flexible energy supply and reduction of energy consumption.

Embodiments of the present application are implemented as follows:

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a power drive system. The power drive system includes: a first motor, a second motor, a first clutch, a transmission device, and an air conditioning compressor, the first motor being in transmission connection to the air conditioning compressor via a first transmission path, the second motor also being in transmission connection to the air conditioning compressor; the first motor being further in transmission connection to the transmission device via a second transmission path for transmitting power of the first motor to drive wheels of a vehicle; the first clutch being disposed on the first transmission path for connection or disconnection of the first transmission path.

In an existing power drive system, drive wheels and an air conditioning compressor are driven by a motor simultaneously, and the air conditioning compressor is driven simultaneously on the premise of ensuring the operation of the drive wheels, such that a rotation speed of the air conditioning compressor may only change with a traveling speed of the vehicle, which makes it difficult to regulate the rotation speed of the air conditioning compressor according to a temperature regulation requirement. Sometimes there is unnecessary energy consumption higher than the temperature regulation requirement, and sometimes a high temperature regulation requirement may not be met due to a low traveling requirement. In the technical solution of the present application, the first motor is connected to the air conditioning compressor via the first transmission path, and is connected to the transmission device via the second transmission path, the first clutch is disposed on the first transmission path, and meanwhile, the air conditioning compressor is further in transmission connection to the second motor. In this way, when high-speed traveling is required but the temperature regulation requirement is low, the first transmission path is disconnected through the first clutch, the first motor only drives the drive wheels, and the second motor drives or does not drive the air conditioning compressor according to the requirement to avoid unnecessary energy consumption. When there is the temperature regulation requirement but no traveling requirement, the first transmission path is disconnected through the first clutch, the first motor stops operating and rests to reduce energy consumption, and the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor to run at different rotation speeds according to the requirement to meet the temperature regulation requirement. When high-speed traveling is required and there is the high temperature regulation requirement, the first transmission path is connected through the first clutch, the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor are driven through the first motor, and the second motor stops operating to reduce energy consumption. In other words, the drive system according to the present application may be flexibly deployed according to the traveling requirement and the temperature regulation requirement to provide a suitable drive force, thereby achieving a desirable energy-saving effect.

In some embodiments of the present application, a rate of work of the first motor is greater than a rate of work of the second motor.

In the above technical solution, when the temperature regulation requirement is high, the first motor with the high rate of work directly drives the air conditioning compressor, which not only meets the high temperature regulation requirement, but also allows the second motor to be provided as a motor with the low rate of work. By reducing the rate of work, the size, weight and cost of the second motor are remarkably reduced, and the operation energy consumption of the second motor is low, thereby having a desirable energy-saving effect. In this way, the first motor may drive the air conditioning compressor to run at a high speed, and the second motor may drive the air conditioning compressor to run at a low speed. By switching the first motor and the second motor to drive the air conditioning compressor respectively, primary speed regulation of the air conditioning compressor is achieved. When the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor independently, the air conditioning compressor may be further decelerated according to the temperature regulation requirement, thereby achieving secondary speed regulation. Thus, the air conditioning compressor is regulated and controlled as flexibly as possible to meet the temperature regulation requirement and reduce unnecessary energy consumption. In another aspect, the second motor stops operating and rests in a case of the high temperature regulation requirement, thereby reducing wear of the second motor and extending the durability of the second motor.

In some embodiments of the present application, the power drive system further includes a second clutch, and the second clutch is disposed in the second transmission path for connection or disconnection of the second transmission path.

In the above technical solution, when the second clutch is disengaged, the first motor may drive the air conditioning compressor independently without driving the drive wheels, such that the high temperature regulation requirement is met when the vehicle does not need to travel, unnecessary energy consumption caused by operation of the drive wheels is reduced, and the energy-saving effect is achieved.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first transmission path includes a first connection portion and a second connection portion that may be connected or disconnected through the first clutch, the first connection portion is in transmission connection to an output end of the first motor, and the second connection portion is in transmission connection to an input end of the air conditioning compressor; and the second transmission path includes a third connection portion and a fourth connection portion that may be connected or disconnected through the second clutch, the third connection portion is in transmission connection to the output end of the first motor, and the fourth connection portion is in transmission connection to an input end of the transmission device.

In the above technical solution, the transmission paths are simple, and the first motor may drive at least one of the air conditioning compressor and the drive wheels, which may meet the high temperature regulation requirement independently and may also meet the traveling requirement independently.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first motor includes a first output end and a second output end, the first output end is connected to the first connection portion, and the second output end is connected to the third connection portion.

In the above technical solution, the first motor has dual output ends, the first output end drives the air conditioning compressor via the first transmission path, and the second output end drives the drive wheels via the second transmission path. The connection structure is simple, the transmission paths are clear, and control is easy.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first connection portion and the third connection portion are interconnected or integrally formed.

In the above technical solution, the first motor is provided with one output end, and the first connection portion and the third connection portion are integrated so as to be connected to the output end of the first motor simultaneously, such that the connection structure is simplified, and flexible regulation and control over the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor are not affected.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second connection portion is in transmission connection to the input end of the air conditioning compressor through the second motor, or, the air conditioning compressor includes a first input end and a second input end, the first input end is connected to the second connection portion, and the second input end is connected to the second motor.

In the above technical solution, the first motor and the second motor may drive the air conditioning compressor independently, respectively, or drive the air conditioning compressor together. Moreover, when the second connection portion is in transmission connection to the input end of the air conditioning compressor through the second motor, the second motor may also drive the drive wheels to rotate in cooperation with the first motor, and the power drive system is flexible in regulation and control.

In some embodiments of the present application, the power drive system has a first operating mode; and in the first operating mode, the first motor operates, the second motor does not operate, the first clutch is disengaged, the second clutch is engaged, the first motor drives the drive wheels, and the air conditioning compressor does not run.

In the above technical solution, in the first operating mode, there is no temperature regulation requirement, the vehicle is driven only by the first motor, and neither the second motor nor the air conditioning compressor runs, thereby reducing energy consumption.

In some embodiments of the present application, the power drive system has a second operating mode; and in the second operating mode, the first motor operates, the second motor does not operate, both the first clutch and the second clutch are engaged, and the first motor drives the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor.

In the above technical solution, in the second operating mode, there is the high temperature regulation requirement, the first motor simultaneously drives the air conditioning compressor and the drive wheels to run at a high speed, and the second motor does not run, thereby relieving wear and reducing energy consumption.

In some embodiments of the present application, the power drive system has a third operating model; and in the third operating mode, both the first motor and the second motor operate, the first clutch is disengaged, the second clutch is engaged, the first motor drives the drive wheels, and the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor.

In the above technical solution, in the third operating mode, the temperature regulation requirement is low, the first motor drives the drive wheels to run at a high speed, and the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor to run at a relatively low speed, thereby adapting to the temperature regulation requirement and reducing unnecessary energy consumption.

In some embodiments of the present application, the power drive system has a fourth operating mode; and in the fourth operating mode, the first motor operates, the second motor does not operate, the first clutch is engaged, the second clutch is disengaged, and the first motor drives the air conditioning compressor.

In the above technical solution, in the fourth operating mode, the vehicle may perform fast charging on a battery when parked. The battery generates more heat during fast charging. By making the first motor drive only the air conditioning compressor to run at a high speed, fast cooling is achieved. At present, in order to achieve cooling of the battery during fast charging, the air conditioning compressor needs to have a high rate of work, or a plurality of air conditioning compressors are provided to run synchronously, which results in a large size and high weight, cost and energy consumption of a product. In the above technical solution, the cooling requirement is met by driving the air conditioning compressor to run at a high speed through the first motor with the high rate of work, thereby effectively reducing the size, weight, cost and energy consumption of the product.

In one embodiment of the present application, the power drive system has a fifth operating mode; and in the fifth operating mode, the first motor does not operate, the second motor operates, both the first clutch and the second clutch are disengaged, and the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor.

In the above technical solution, in the fifth operating mode, the vehicle is parked, the temperature regulation requirement in a compartment is met, the second motor has low energy consumption, and flexible speed regulation is achieved.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a vehicle. The vehicle includes the above-mentioned power drive system.

In order to make the objective, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the described embodiments are a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without any creative effort fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the present application have the same meanings as are commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present application. Terms used in the specification of the present application are merely for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The terms “comprise” and “have” and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of the present application and the above description of the drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. The terms “first”, “second”, etc. in the specification and the claims of the present application or in the accompanying drawings above are used to distinguish between different objects and are not intended to describe a particular order or relationship of precedence.

“Embodiment” referred to in the present application means that particular features, structures, or characteristics described in conjunction with embodiments may be included in at least one of the embodiments of the present application. The presence of the phrase in various places in the precedence does not necessarily mean the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

In the description of the present application, it is to be noted that the terms “mount”, “connected”, “connect” and “attached” are to be understood in a broad sense, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, for example, it may be a fixed connection, or a removable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a direct connection, or an indirect connection via an intermediate medium, and it may be internal communication of two elements. To a person of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application may be understood according to specific situations.

The term “and/or” in the present application is simply a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and/or B may indicate that: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character “/” in the present application generally means that the associated objects are in an “or” relationship.

In embodiments of the present application, the same reference numerals indicate the same components, and detailed descriptions of the same components are omitted in different embodiments for the sake of brevity. It is to be understood that the thickness, length, width, etc. of the various components in the embodiments of the present application illustrated in the accompanying drawings as well as the overall thickness, length, width, etc. of an integrated device are illustrative merely and may not constitute any limitation to the present application.

With the increasing requirements of energy conservation and emission reduction, new energy vehicles have become a new development trend of the automobile industry, such as electric vehicles, whose energy storage power source is battery. A power drive system of an electric vehicle includes a motor, a motor controller, a transmission device, wheels and so on. The motor controller receives output signals from an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a gear control handle, controls rotation of the motor, and drives the drive wheels through the transmission device. In the electric vehicle, the motor not only drives the wheels to run, but also drives a thermal management device to run, for example, driving an air conditioning compressor to run.

In order to ensure the vehicle power, the motor is generally mainly used to ensure the operation of the drive wheels, and drives the air conditioning compressor to rotate simultaneously, such that a rotation speed of the air conditioning compressor may only change with a traveling speed of the vehicle, and it is not easy to match the rotation speed of the air conditioning compressor with a temperature regulation requirement. Sometimes the rotation speed is greater than the temperature regulation requirement, resulting in unnecessary energy consumption, and sometimes the rotation speed is less than the temperature regulation requirement, thereby failing to meet the usage requirement. How to control the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor to flexibly run to meet a traveling requirement and the temperature regulation requirement of the vehicle simultaneously and reduce energy consumption as much as possible is one of the important research and development directions in this field.

In view of this, the present application provides a power drive system. The power drive system includes a first motor, a second motor, a first clutch, a transmission device, and an air conditioning compressor. The first motor is in transmission connection to the air conditioning compressor via a first transmission path, and the second motor is also in transmission connection to the air conditioning compressor. The first motor is further in transmission connection to the transmission device via a second transmission path for transmitting power of the first motor to drive wheels of a vehicle. The first clutch is disposed on the first transmission path for connection or disconnection of the first transmission path.

In the power drive system according to the present application, when the first clutch is controlled to connect the first transmission path, the first motor drives the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor simultaneously, and the second motor may stop operating and rest, thereby reducing the quantity of operating components and playing roles in saving energy and protecting the second motor. When the first clutchis controlled to disconnect the first transmission path, the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor independently, in this case, the first motor is only used for driving the drive wheels, and the second motor is only used for driving the air conditioning compressor, thereby achieving independent operation of the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor. The second motor may be controlled according to a temperature regulation requirement to regulate a rotation speed of the air conditioning compressor.

In this way, the rotation speed of the air conditioning compressor does not necessarily change with a traveling speed of the vehicle, thereby controlling the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor to run flexibly and achieving a desirable energy-saving effect. For example, when high-speed traveling is required but the temperature regulation requirement is low, the first transmission path is disconnected through the first clutch, the first motor only drives the drive wheels, and the second motor drives or does not drive the air conditioning compressor according to the requirement to avoid unnecessary energy consumption. When there is the temperature regulation requirement but no traveling requirement, the first transmission path is disconnected through the first clutch, the first motor stops operating and rests to reduce energy consumption, and the second motor drives the air conditioning compressor according to the requirement to meet the temperature regulation requirement. When high-speed traveling is required and there is a high temperature regulation requirement, the first transmission path is connected through the first clutch, the drive wheels and the air conditioning compressor are driven through the first motor, and the second motor stops operating to reduce energy consumption.

The power drive system according to the embodiment of the present application may be, but is not limited to, used for vehicles, and may also be used for ships, aircrafts and other electric devices, such as electric ships, spacecrafts, electric toys, electric tools, and the like. The electric toys may include game machines, electric car toys, electric ship toys, electric aircraft toys, etc. The electric tools may include electric machine tools, electric sweepers, etc. The spacecrafts may include aircrafts, rockets, space shuttles, spaceships, etc.

The following takes the electric device being a vehicle as an example for illustration.

As shown in, the vehiclemay be a pure electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or an extended program vehicle, etc. A battery, a controller, and a power drive systemmay be disposed inside the vehicle. The controlleris used for controlling the batteryto supply electricity to the power drive system. For example, the batterymay be disposed at a bottom or front or rear of the vehicle. The batterymay be used for supplying electricity to the vehicle. For example, the batterymay be used as an operation electricity source of the vehicleto be used for a circuit system of the vehicle, for example, used for operation electricity requirements of the vehicleduring startup, navigation and running. Meanwhile, the batterymay not only serve as the operation electricity source of the vehicle, but may also serve as a drive electricity source of the vehicleto replace or partially replace fuel oil or natural gas to provide drive force for the power drive systemof the vehicle.

As shown in, the power drive systemincludes a first motor, a second motor, a first clutch, a transmission device, and an air conditioning compressor. The first motoris in transmission connection to the air conditioning compressorvia a first transmission path, and the second motoris also in transmission connection to the air conditioning compressor. The first motoris further in transmission connection to the transmission devicevia a second transmission path for transmitting power of the first motorto drive wheelsof the vehicle. The first clutchis disposed on the first transmission path for connection or disconnection of the first transmission path.

The drive wheelsare subjected to forward ground friction and are wheels that provide drive force for traveling of the vehicle. The drive wheelsare connected to the power drive systemthrough the transmission deviceto obtain the drive force.

The transmission deviceis a device formed by a series of a crankshaft, a flywheel, a transmission, a transmission shaft, a reducer, a differential, a semi-axle, etc. having elasticity and rotational inertia, and is used for transmitting the power from the first motorto the drive wheels. For example, the power is output by the first motor, and is transmitted to the drive wheelsthrough the transmission shaft, the reducer, the differential, and the semi-axle after the transmission increases the torque and changes a speed.

In the power drive system, the first motoris a component that mainly provides drive force for the vehicle. The first motoris connected to the air conditioning compressorvia the first transmission path, and is connected to the drive wheelsvia the second transmission path.

The first clutchis a component that connects a driving part with a driven part of the first transmission path and used for cutting off or transmitting the power. The first clutchis disposed on the first transmission path. When the first clutchis engaged, the first motortransmits power to the air conditioning compressorvia the first transmission path. When the first clutchis disengaged, the first transmission path is disconnected and the first motormay not transmit power to the air conditioning compressor.